, 1887-07-21
TALL STORIES.
Explanations by Chief Justice
Maginnis and Luke Murrin.
lrrigating Land and Running a
SmeIter in Wyoming.
Impressions Carried Away by a
Pennsylvania Tourist.

Il don't exactly understand how you
irrigate in this country" said ex-Gover-
nor Pattison, of Pennsylvania, as he was
walking up Capitol avenue in company
with Chief Justice Maginnis and Col.
Luke Murrin last Monday morning.
That's very simple said the Judge.
You see they run a ditch through the
center Of a ranch and every morning slide
first one and then the other half of the
land through it. All the soil cultivated
in this country is mounted on portable
plank platforms. This prevents a great
waste of water by s~eepage."
Wonderful, wonderful" calculated
the Union Pacific investigator.
VERY common out here, Mike" said
Col. Murrin. But sometimes they
make immense reservoirs from the Stag
refuse thrown away by the smelters. OF
curse it contains considerable silver, but
the gold is all carefully extracted, SO that
there Is really no waste"
Mr.. Pattison subsidized until the party
reached the central school building, when
he inquired the uses of that beautiful
structure.
That, said Judge Maginnis, lis the
Wyoming capitol building. 1t was erect
ed in 1867, and cost 5000, 900. Every
particle of the material was hauled from
Omaha and st. Louis by bull teams, aud
the work was done by mechanics imported
from New York and Chicago. Over 800
men were picked off by Indians while
laying brick on the walls, and everyone
of them was buried under the building
without any funeral services. There
were no preachers here then"
When ex Governor Pattison had recov-
cred his breath he pointed at the genuine
capitol building and timidly said: rs
that the new court house you we're speak
ing about in Denver yesterday, Mr.. Muir
rin?"
mo" responded the colonel, there's
the court house f%orninst the park, nod
ding in the direction of the convent. II
see they finished it while we were gone.
That building half completed is the new
Silver Crown smelter."
Why, | thought a smelter was a little
building with a big smokestack; m
thing like a rolling mill or a factory" re-
piled Mr.. Pattison.
Not much, Mike" continued Murrin.
You must be thinking of smelts. A
smelter is a nice, clean establishment more
like a mint than anything else. The
miners bring in the best ore and wait a
few minutes until the gold is extracted.
The institution will De finished by the
time you return from the West, and we'll
shew you through it"
Il see no men are working there this
morning. Are they on a strike or delayed
for want of material2"
Neither, said Judge Maginnis. "a
strike has never occurred in this country
yet. When a workman becomes dissatis-
fed he kills the boss and takes charge of
the job himself. Two men were killed
that way last week. They are not work
ing to-day because the Indians have been
bad in this part of town lately, and might
possibly kill a few of the men, and that
a horrible nuisance at present, as there
are no collins in the city. Windy Bob
used the last one yesterday after a preach
er caught him trying to nip a two bit piece
out of the collection plate"
well, -er well, hadn't we better return
to the hoteI?" suggested the tenderfoot as
he gazed toward Sloan's lake in an anxious
manner and turned rather pale.
Il guess we had better, Mr.. Pattison."
said. Col. Murrin, ''out here it is GUS
tomary to give everybody a fair chance,
and there's nc telling what might hap
pen if we ventured too far out"
AS the party turned down Eighteenth
street a large cared burro was observed
grazing inside a lawn. OF course the
Pennsylvania desired to know what the
animal was, and Judge Maginuis i'm
pressively remarked: That, MIR. Patti
SON, is a Wyoming grasshopper. The
race is almost extinct, but a few have been
preserved and domesticated. AS a rule
they are quite gentle, though hat one
kicked a child to death last week" The
travelling official remained silent until the
trio reached the Inter Ocean, when he
bid the Wyomingites farewell, and retir-
ing to his room prayed fervently hat he
might be allowed to depart from Chey-
enne in peace, while the Judge and
colonel related the circumstance of the
trip to Anderson, of New York, and
Littler, of ILL.,, who are probably still
guying Pattison about the affair and the
crednlity of the avernna Tourist